Wangaratta Council exposed | Julian Fidge takes the stand

WANGARATTA Council’s senior staff members including former chief executive Doug Sharp were “upset and aggrieved” by the 2012 election outcome, according to former councillor Julian Fidge.

Dr Fidge’s observation was made during a marathon day in the witness box at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal yesterday.

“They felt the election was somehow wrong and the council was sacked because of the tantrum they threw,” Dr Fidge said.

On the second day of his appeal against misconduct charges issued by a councillor conduct panel before the council was dismissed last year, Dr Fidge was grilled by the legal team for the “joined parties” of former council colleagues Rozi Parisotto, Don Joyce, Tammy Atkins and Lisa McInerney.

Under cross-examination, Dr Fidge was accused of being on a mission to oust Mr Sharp from his post in the lead-up to and after the 2012 election.

Dr Fidge was part of the new-look council elected, which he believed didn’t sit well with Mr Sharp and another senior staffer, Ray Park.

“On the first day as a councillor I was made to feel so uncomfortable by Doug Sharp and the council management team,” Dr Fidge said.

“As the newcomer I was made to feel isolated and undermined.

“This management team had a history of running councillors out of council.

“I needed to establish I wouldn’t be stood over and wouldn’t be gagged.”

Dr Fidge conceded he made critical comments of the council staff and former councillors, including calling them “clowns” on a Facebook page he used during the election campaign.